Samsung has officially unveiled the Galaxy XR, its first mixed reality headset, taking on Apple’s Vision Pro and Meta’s Quest 3. The headset is the first to run the Android XR platform (developed in collaboration with Samsung, Google, and Qualcomm) and comes integrated with Gemini.
Galaxy XR Brings Scalable Android XR Platform
Galaxy XR headset’s Android XR platform supports many first-party XR-optimised and even third-party apps. It is built on the OpenXR standards, making it easier for OpenXR, WebXR or Unity developers to create apps for the platform.
Android XR’s native Gemini integration enables assistance in several tasks. Users can navigate to any place on Google Maps and even get more details about the YouTube video being played with Gemini’s help. There’s also support for Gemini’s Circle to Search, which can be used in the pass-through mode to search for information in the physical world. The headset also supports the ability to convert 2D photos and videos into 3D and get AI assistance in gaming, among other things.
The headset has a metal faceplate at the front. It includes rear and forehead cushioning and a side band for long-term comfort. The headset also has a detachable light shield to block external light when attached and offers comfort when detached. There are two micro-LED displays and an array of sensors and cameras, which are concealed behind the curved glass panel. These sensors help track users’ head, hand and eye movements.
The Galaxy XR headset does all the grunt work with the help of the Snapdragon XR2+ Gen 2 processor. It supports its advanced AI capabilities through the Qualcomm Hexagon NPU. Additionally, it supports an interpupillary distance of 54-70mm and supports vision correction through addition lenses. There’s a two-way speaker setup with support for Spatial Audio and Dolby Atmos. It also supports up to 2.5 hours of video playback and two hours of general use. Here are the technical specs to look at:
| Galaxy XR Specifications | |
| Display | Two 4.3K resolution Micro-OLED displays with 95% DCI‑P3 colours, up to 90Hz refresh rate, and 109-degrees Field of View (horizontal) and 10-degrees (vertical) |
| Processor | Snapdragon XR2+ Gen 2 Platform |
| RAM and Storage | 16GB and 256GB |
| Cameras | 6.5MP; Two High-resolution Pass-through cameras Six World-facing tracking cameras Four Eye-tracking Cameras (with iris recognition) |
| Sensors | Five Inertial Measurement Units(IMUs) One Depth sensor, One Flicker sensor |
| Audio | Two, 2 Way speaker (Woofer + Tweeter), Six Microphones array |
| Connectivity | Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth 5.4 |
Galaxy XR Price and Availability
The Galaxy XR headset will cost $1,799 (approx. Rs 1,57,000) and can be purchased in the US and South Korea. However, there’s no word on its availability in other regions, including India.
